The Deal On Brazil...

I guess I should specify my Brazil dreams because everyone does not seem to be up on this track. So lemme break it down for you right quick!...

God started to plant Brazil on my heart when he had me read "A Cry From The Streets"...I looked on the back of the book and it said it was published by YWAM. Thats how i came to look more into YWAM and eventually ended up here in LA:) It has been a few years since i read that book, but the stories and the passion for the kids within this country did not leave my heart. The book explained about YWAM's ministry with the enormous population of "street children" that live on the sidewalks of Brazil. These kids are terrorized and often murdered by the corrupt police who say they are "cleaning up the streets". Its ridiculous.

YWAM has several different bases located all over Brazil...one house that works with little girls coming out of prostitution...another house that works with boys that are addicted to sniffing glue and other harder drugs.

I have wanted to go to Brazil for a few years now, but did not know how to do missions or what that looked like...and have battled through doubts of personal ability in this area. In addition, I have had and still do have school loans that I need to repay. So I have been processing and waiting for God to continue to develop and lead me in this dream...towards my heart.

A month or so ago, God placed a new plan in my head concerning Brazil. It was 6am on a saturday morning and i was suddenly awaken from a deep sleep with a very distinct and clear thought that randomly jumped my head and myself awake. Given that it was, 1. 6AM lol...and 2. So randomly placed and so clear...and then 3. that we just had teaching on hearing from the Holy Spirit haha....I was 100% certain that this thought was from my Daddy. One more piece of background info for ya...right before coming to YWAM LA, I had read a book called "A Boy Raised As A Dog", in which a psychiatrist/doctoral psychologist tells about his stories of the traumatized children that he has worked with in counseling them. This man, named, Bruce Perry, works with other colleagues in researching how children respond to trauma and what the best ways of working with them are. It is an amazing read if you are interested. But yeah....so the thought was this: that I should get in touch with this guy, Dr. Perry, and work it so that he employs me to do research and counseling with the traumatized children that YWAM works with in Brazil. Integrating professional counseling techniques (mainly TF-CBT aka Trauma-Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy...my favorite) with the Christian faith and the ultimate need for these children to have Jesus in their lives. I realize its quite the task and challenge...but thats my life=) where some have told me it would be impossible or that i'm not being realistic...i continue to think big...to think with Jesus...and allow HIM to make the impossible possible! I can only trust Him...because I know that this is his dream too...i could never have thought this big and He knew that haha....I am laughing at myself because I once wondered how God could ever dream bigger than me lol. how prideful is that??! well...he has a funny way of proving me wrong. and I LOVE HIM FOR THAT!!!!!! pray for me! You are all held in my heart.

Falling In Love...

Its amazing what depth of joy that freedom and revelation can bring forth. It basically ruins you for the ordinary. For me...an ordinary that consists of always striving. striving to please God...to always trying and feeling the failure of not making him proud. Of constantly trying to "do", instead of just "be". I have been revived to a place in which i can see with new vision more of my true identity in Jesus...and it is through this revelation that i feel a new joy.

This past week the lectures were on "The Father Heart of God". Tom Hallas was the speaker and i seriously learned so much from his teachings and his display of God's heart through his own character.

Telling truth from lies becomes so much clearer when you are able to not only recognize but obediently choose to live out of your proclaimed inheritance as sons and daughters of the most High God. How blessed are we?!

With more revelation and experiencing God...the more my faith and trust is increased. One of my favorite quotes from Tom is "If we do not think that God is worthy of our trust/love, we will not fully trust him" "We will not love him with ALL that we are if we do not fully trust his character". So true....at least it definitely is true for me. seems so simple when i write it out...but to my heart and head it was profound:) Sometimes love has to be a choice for me. To daily choose to walk out my existing trust in God with how i live...and to continually press in to more experiences with God so that i am reminded how worthy He truly is.

2 awesome songs that ive recently downloaded that capitalize on what i've been experiencing lately: "You Have Ravished My Heart"- Brian Johnson & "I Have Found"- Kim Walker

Anyways...So, we have 2 more weeks of lecture phase left before we leave for Mexico City/Veracruz! I cannot believe how flippin fast the time has gone here and how much truth i've soaked up. Our trip plans are going to be pretty open and unknown beforehand as well as prolly day-to-day. This is because our outreach team is the first one that LA has sent to these cities, so everything is new and exciting! Thus TBD:) basically what we are going to do is seek God each day we wake up and get the down low from the Holy Spirit on what he wants us to do with our time. i'm so stoked to see more of God in this way! We are partnering with churches and will be going in with the mindset of empowering them to reach their cities, so that when we leave they can continue to make fight the battles. we have the chance to bring in our own ideas that God is already laying on our hearts and perhaps be able to put them into play once we are there. i may have a lot of ideas already:)

So...we leave around the 14th (i think) of December. and we will then be back in the states after 2 months. And then my Transformation DTS is over. wow. I am comforted in knowing, though, that God will faithfully continue to transform me for the rest of my life if I let him. I have a couple different ideas for after DTS, but i'm not certain at all on either of them, so it will be alot more practicing of my faith! They have another school that is offered here that would start shortly after DTS ends. It is called SOMD- School of Ministry Development. It is a 3 month long school in which your gifts and talents are capitalized on and you are able to begin working out specific projects and dreams that God has placed on your heart...BRAZIL...haha...and actually work on practical program development stuff and putting it into place...and an optional outreach after the 3 month school. i'm considering it. But there are alot of things to also consider...like...my 2 lil boys whom i miss so much but in all actually are prolly doing fine without me lol (my cats!) haha...and then there are those nasty school loans which i keep defering...So...

I need prayer:) like always! prayer specifically for the following:

* Last 2 weeks of lecture phase...
-that i can continue to soak up all the truth that God has for me
-that i can continue to choose to live out my identity in Christ and continue to realize more of what that truly means
-that God will be preparing each day for us in advance (for outreach)
-that our minds and heart will be protected against spiritual warfare (deppression & oppression) b4 and mostly while we are in Mexico
-that God will lay on our hearts his ideas and visions for Mexico and the outreach activities that He desires for us to do
-and a practical thing of money for a backpack for Mexico, b/c we will be traveling alot and i need like a hiking backpack to lug around my stuff in!

*After DTS ends (in 2 months)...
-revelation of the path God wants me to follow
-whether it is the secondary school of SOMD (preparing for Brazil)....or just up and going to Brazil (with a few ideas of my own)...or going back to Indianapolis...or whever the heck else or whatever else that God may surprise me with:) the options are prolly endless and i like it like that!

haha...peace out ya'll. i love you all and continue to thank God all the time for such an AMAZING group of supporters he has blessed me with. THANK YOU for walking with me in this journey of life.

New LA Down Low:

Hi to all of my supporters and continual thanks for making this adventure possible for me. Its been a very busy last couple of weeks so i'ma give ya all the down low on whats been up lately:)

We started meeting in our outreach teams and hammering out some hard-core learning about our country...mine being Mexico. We will be spending our first month in Mexico City and the second month in Veracruz. Just a lil info on Mexico, lol...you'll be surprised to know that i was 1 of 2 people to get all the states right on our GEOGRAPHY quiz lol!!!! haaaaaayyy! haha. get it. there are 31 states within Mexico and most of them are rather crime-ridden. There is a ton of trafficking weapons IN to Mexico from the US and then in exchange...US gets Mexico's drugs. I know...lovely huh? There is hope though, and one of the reasons for hope is that multiple YWAM bases (including ours and our own students) have gotten prophecies and visions concerning Mexico and an upcoming revival within the churches there and within the hearts of the people living there. So that is very encouraging and exciting! However, it still remains a very dark and spiritually oppressive country. We learned about the religious history of Mexico and it explains alot about the present violence and oppression that still exists. The country was founded by differing Indian tribes (Myans and...i forget, wupps) but they worshipped many different gods that they offered human sacrifices to in order to spill their blood out for the gods. Have you ever seen Apocalypse? It paints a very gruesome picture for you. and now Mexicans worship the goddesse of the dead. It is a very largely practiced cult, both in Mexico City and Veracruz. The country has a very corrupt justice system which is infested with dirty cops and politicians. Kidnapping for ransom is a very big problem there, and the cops are often involved.
Yeah, so...there is a lil bit of what we will be facing and walking into...but i share this with you so that you can be praying and entering with me into battle within the spiritual realm.

We have been learning in class about Spiritual Warfare, countered with God's Truths and Power; as well as Cultural Ministry, and this week's speaker is focusing on Servanthood. Good stuff! I loved the week on Spiritual Warfare b/c the speaker didn't focus JUST on satan...she would counter it with Godly truth. the main thing that stuck with me was the concept (truth) that we, as God's children, automatically are blessed with God's power to claim authority over satan and his agenda. God has given ALL of us the authority to trample on satan's head. We just have to CHOOSE to believe this and choose to live it out. And...if we choose to rather believe satan's lies that he plants in our heads, we are giving him his power. He has no power over us but that which we allow him to have. very eye-opening stuff! loved it.

We have also started to go to our "Ethnic churches"...ours being a Mexican church. its pretty tight, being able to listen to a sermon all in Spanish! I'm learning alot of new Spanish! Its so cool to be able to worship God in another language and culture. And then there is the bonus of always getting Mexican food afterwards:) I got the hook up on this one!

So...thats the recent down low of LA life. and my big sista is comin out to see me this weekend so i'm extremely stoked about that. she just decided tonight lol. I love random adventures! Please keep praying for me...the LA base...and Mexico with me! I covet all of your prayers and encouragement. Love to all...